Observed Adverse Effects of Sinopharm COVID-19 Vaccine in Healthcare Workers

Abstract: Background: Covid-19 was first identified in Wuhan China in December 2019, and rapidly spread world over. Vaccine was always thought as first line defence against viral infections, and Covid was no exception. Although developed through different technologies, Pakistan got its share of Sinopharm from China and vaccination started in February 2021, with priority for Healthcare workers. There were lot of myths and hesitancy related with the adverse effects and urgency in approving these vaccines. Addressing adverse effects in post vaccinated population hence, became an important matter. Objective: Aim of this study was to observe the adverse effects of this vaccine in Pakistani population, to assess safety and develop confidence in Healthcare Workers. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional Observation study was carried out in vaccinated Healthcare Professional through Non-probability purposive sampling over a period of one month. A team collected data directly, as well as on the telephone call. A Google form was also generated and sent. Information was collected and analysed on IBM-SPSS 23.0 Result: Majority of the participants were less than 55 years with female dominance. Among co-morbidities, hypertension was most common, followed by diabetes. In local and systemic adverse effects, pain and fatigue were most common, followed by muscle weakness, fever and headache respectively. These effects were also more common after first injection. Conclusion: Results favor that people should be more careful after the first dose as more adverse effects were felt after that. This vaccine has a good safety profile as no major adverse effects were noticed. It was also considered safe for patients with co-morbidities.